LARAMIE, Wyo. (3/6/23) – The University of Wyoming soccer team has begun its spring season. The Cowgirls' next month and a half is stacked with practices, weight-training sessions and games against various teams from across the Front Range and Wyoming.
This marks the first time UW has been full-go since its season ended in November. And while the conclusion wasn't one the Cowgirls wanted – a double-overtime loss to San Jose State in the Mountain West Conference Championship game – the journey to that point was one they'll never forget.
Wyoming catapulted into the top spot of the conference via three-straight victories to close the regular season. Two of those wins were due to an 89th-minute go-ahead goal, while the other was a 4-0 domination at rival Colorado State.
The Cowgirls advanced to just their third conference tournament title match by way of a 1-0 victory over San Diego State in the semifinals. That game featured Wyoming having to stave off the Aztecs with just 10 players for the final 18 minutes of the contest.
Momentum within the program is present. And head coach Colleen Corbin hopes to build on that this spring.
"I think the main goal for the spring is to try and build stamina, strength, and momentum," Corbin said. "Last spring, a heavy focus was put on strength and fitness and making sure we were developing as athletes. The fitness standards have been set and those expectations are already being met."
Having already achieved a desired level of fitness has allowed Corbin and her staff to hyper focus and fine tune. Instead of establishing base-line areas that need to be met, the Cowgirls can tweak smaller areas to improve their game.
"The team understands what the spring is for and what it's about," Corbin said. "The girls are confident about what and why they're doing the things we are asking them to do. That's allowed us to step back and focus on the smaller details and do a lot more functional-training type sessions."
Wyoming's spring schedule begins this week with a home match against Colorado on Saturday. The slate includes junior college teams from Wyoming such as Western Wyoming and LCCC, while also featuring Division I and II foes such as Northern Colorado, Denver, Regis and Metro State.
"The spring schedule allows us the opportunity to play against a bunch of different types of programs and a bunch of different set-ups that will be coached different ways," Corbin said. "It's varying levels of soccer and varying levels of athleticism. Our expectations is we compete at a high level regardless of the opponent – that we still bring the same level of Cowgirl soccer to every match."
